Marshall Men’s Soccer Preview
By: Max Chaffin, FM88 Sports
HUNTINGTON, WV (WMUL-FM) – Marshall men’s soccer returns to Hoops Family Field this weekend for its final non-conference matchup this season. The Thundering Herd (3-1-2) is coming off its first Sun Belt Conference game of the season with a 1-0 win over the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington.
Arriving in Huntington is the Eastern Illinois Panthers (1-3-2) who are coming off a 4-1 victory over the Chicago State Cougars. Senior defender Marcos Ayelo scored two goals for the Panthers in the contest. For Marshall, the season has been full of ups and downs. It started the season off as high as #12 in the country but have now dropped out of the top 25. Marshall has also done the improbable this season, as the Herd came back down three goals, to draw with George Mason.
Eastern Illinois is coming into this matchup with a new sense of confidence after winning its first game of the season over Chicago State. The Panthers drew to the Bradley Braves 3-3 after giving up a penalty shot in the 82nd minute. Leading the way for the Panthers is senior forward Sergej Misic with four goals on the season, two of those came against Omaha in an early season matchup. Junior forward Keidin Green has three goals on the season, including a goal in the Panthers last matchup against Chicago State.
Marshall has been efficient all season long, as senior midfielder Thiago Apolinario and freshman forward Joshua Nugent are tied for the team lead in goals with three. Carl Romberg leads the team in shots with 14 on the season. The Herd are coming into this matchup averaging 1.83 goals per game and have been a scoring machine all season long. Marshall is looking to continue its streak of scoring a goal in every match this season.
In goal for the Thundering Herd will be freshman Yurji Obert, who has 16 saves on the season and a .682 saving percentage. The Panthers will rely on goalkeeper Samuel Toruno, who has seen action in four games this season with 17 saves and a .654 saving percentage. The Panthers could also have Kai Odagiri in goal, as he has the only win in goal for the Panthers this season.
This game should be a good one that concludes non-conference play for both squads.
The contest will be available on WMUL-FM 88.1 and online at marshall.edu/wmul on Stream 1. FM88 Sports Rhys Owens and Zane Quentrill will have the call with pregame coverage at 7 p.m. with kickoff beginning at 7:15.